


A Lack of Understanding

by Duckay



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-26
Updated: 2017-07-26
Packaged: 2018-12-07 11:11:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11622342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Duckay/pseuds/Duckay
Summary: In which Enjolras is confused and cold, and Grantaire deflects at length.





	A Lack of Understanding

**Author's Note:**

> For a writing prompt from a list posted by hellsdemonictrinity and given to me by an anonymous party: 38. "I haven't seen you in a few days."
> 
> On the subject of which, you can find me on tumblr at proceduralbob.

"I haven't seen you for a few days." Enjolras' voice was clipped and cold, almost no emotion seeping through.

Grantaire tried to force his voice into something casual, but the price of that was that he couldn't make eye contact. "Yeah, well."

"'Yeah, well'? You can't just..." Enjolras cut off suddenly, inhaling sharply. The rest of his sentence came in an undertone. "You can't just do stuff like that anymore."

"Why not?"

There were probably a thousand reasons Enjolras could come up with, and a thousand more why that was a stupid question to ask. When none came firing at him, Grantaire willed himself to look up finally. Enjolras' lips were pressed together in a white line.

Finally, he said, in a voice that shook with some concealed emotion, "You said you -"

"I know what I said. There's nothing wrong with my memory."

"And then you - you fucking left. For three days."

"I guess it should have been longer."

By the time Grantaire was halfway to the door, he had the whole exit planned out. He'd pause just before he left to fire off some witty rejoinder, and then he'd be gone, out of Enjolras' life. Well, out of his life for another few days at least. Until some of the ice thawed, and he ran out of things to do away from here. Away from Enjolras.

He only got a few steps more before Enjolras broke the silence, his voice like a whipcrack.

"You're not acting like anything's changed." Was there a hint of desperation in his voice, or was that Grantaire's imagination? It sounded almost like Enjolras was pleading with him, though Grantaire was sure if he turned around, he'd look every bit as much the marble statue as he always did.

"Why should I? Nothing did." That had a sort of finality to it, and could have served very well as a dramatic exit line, but it wasn't really in his nature to stick to just one line, no matter how good it was. He turned, slowly, as he continued, the words spilling out before he could check himself. Enjolras was standing closer than he would have thought. "Of course you expected more, because that's who you are. You always expect more out of people. But I can't act like anything is different when, from where I'm standing, it's more of the same. The sun will rise, the sun will set, the people will continue about their lives, clocking repetitive hours in jobs they don't want to do for money that won't make them happy and -"

"Grantaire," Enjolras said.

"- of course they have grand ideas. Everyone does. One day, they'll have done everything they need to do and that's when they can start doing what they want to do instead. But by then, what they either don't realise or won't let themselves realise, by then they'll have spent so long working for meaningless goals that they felt obligated to that they no longer have a memory of what it is that they wanted to do. And yet, if you're someone who wants to throw off the whole thing and -"

"Grantaire, what are you talking about?"

It was too late. He was on a roll, now.

"- seen by society as worthless. Do you think that's a coincidence? If I were as educated as you are about politics and social order I'm sure I'd know the academic term for it, but frankly it's just another way of -"

Enjolras took another step closer and clamped his hand over Grantaire's mouth.

"Grantaire," he said. "It changed for me."

There was nothing to say to that, even if Grantaire's mouth had been unobstructed. Instead, he just nodded, stupidly, waiting for him to continue.

"You said you loved me and then you vanished. I didn't know when you were coming back. I didn't know if you'd come back at all."

Enjolras lowered his hand slowly, but his expression was wary, like he was afraid it would kick off another rant. If the mood had been any less serious, perhaps it would have.

Instead, Grantaire said, his voice softer than he'd intended, "You didn't say anything."

Enjolras shrugged, though he had the decency to look a little sheepish about it. "I didn't know what to say."

Stupid though he could be sometimes, Grantaire was fairly sure he had an idea what that meant. He turned towards the door again. Now, there was probably no need for a witty parting word.

A hand reached out and clutched his.

"Please don't leave again."


End file.
